Lists

 Does your day need a remedy, a resolution, or a celebration? Try List Writing!

    I’m enthused about lists right now. Have you ever thought about how neat lists are? They fall into a category of their own. There are no rules for making a list. There is no expectation to show it to anyone else. It can be long or short. It can take the place of a diary. It can be enlightening. And anyone can make a list—school children, busy mothers, thoughtful grandfathers. You don’t even have to write it down if you don’t want to. You can make your list as dull or eloquent as you like. You can make it straight to the point or add sub-lists. The benefits go on and on.
    I’ve mostly made lists in my life that are hum-drum and disappointing. Chores to do, Groceries to buy, Bills to pay. There have been a couple fun ones—places to visit on this trip and books to read would be among them, but what about giving lists an entirely new life? I think some have tried to do so by bullet journaling. I’m just going to call it list-making.
It’s like this: You know the thankful lists that some people faithfully write? Well, maybe you think it’s a good idea, but it looks daunting. You can change the rules a little, if you list. How about a list called Things that Make Me Smile or Things I’m not Sad About or even Things That Were Not Unpleasantly Normal?
    How about making a list of things you did instead of things you need to do? Why not record the verses that impress you during the week or the answers to prayer you've experienced? What if you documented the laughter you shared with your child instead of the number of times you had to punish him?
    Lists can bring clarity. Sometimes when you see the large number of positive things compared to the smaller list of negative things that happened in the day you realize it wasn’t as bad as you thought. Sometimes making lists can help make a decision—just seeing the pros and cons right in front of you. Sometimes lists are just for you to look back on and smile at.
    I wish there were a few more lists started. How about a list of elderly or shut-ins that people could write letters to? Maybe a list of bridal shower and baby shower games? Or how about a list of names that people should never name their children?
    But that’s enough about lists. Below you will find some of mine from the fairs I did with my dad recently. I got started writing lists and found I couldn’t stop. They aren't elegantly worded or correctly punctuated. There may be some spelling errors. Perhaps you'll end up with more questions than answers. So you don’t have to read them, but you may. And if they inspire someone to write lists of their own, that’s even better.
 
Statistics:
7 hours driven with the windows down because the air conditioner didn't work
810 gallons of gas burned
3,000 miles traveled
22 nights spent in hotels
4 shows
726 dip & cheeseball samples used
72 gallons of soup made

States Traveled Through:
Louisiana
Arkansas
Missouri
Kansas
Iowa
Minnesota
South Dakota

Things People Left at our Booth:
A flag that says "Trump 2020" plus some words I won't repeat
1 Firestone jacket
1 XL sweatshirt that said "Alcohol first, Relatives later"
2 New Testaments
1 child's blow-up toy ball
1 notepad
3 yardsticks
1 flyswatter
1 cloth bag

Things People Gave Us:
1 broom
1 Artic thermos
2 yardsticks
1 cloth carry bag with Minnesota State University on it
1 free supper at Denny's
1 jar of honey
1 bag of kettle corn
1 paper fan

Things Carried Out of the Hotel in One Trip by One Person (me):
1 backpack
1 blanket
1 purse
1 orange tree

2 pieces of luggage

Restaurants We Dined At:
McDonalds
Burger King
Wendy's
Dairy Queen
Popeyes
Grizzlies
371 Diner
The Barn
Perkins
Applebee's
Pizza Hut
Denny's
Famous Dave's BBQ

Things I Bought or Traded Soup For:
Infused Honey
Larry's Peeler (yes, I know, a sucker born every minute and all. But you should have heard all the people that had owned a peeler for years and loved it.)
1 Orange Tree
1 bar of chocolate
3 bags of coffee (not for me, just to be clear)
1 bag of tea
1 tin of Watkins Cinnamon 

From Wal-Mart (they don't let you trade for things):
1 soft blanket
1 jacket
1 pair of tennis shoes

Entertainment at the Fair We Did Not Attend:
Concert by Florida Georgia Line
Concert by Maddie & Tae
Concert by Josh Turner
State Fair Rodeo

Attractions We Visited:

Model Train Museum

Como Park Zoo & Conservatory

Attractions I'll Have to Go Back to Visit:
Laura Ingalls Wilder Home
Betsy & Tacy Home
Charles Lindbergh Home & Museum
Jesse James' Birthplace
George Washington Carver National Museum

Things That Made Me Smile:
All the old vehicles that drove by on their way to and from the antique car show
The teenage guy that thought the sleeping vendor was dead and freaked out
Getting to watch piglets being born
The stunning starry sky in Rural South Dakota
Dogs
Little kids that play peek-a-boo while their moms shop
Teenagers raised in the country that have learned respect
The people that asked where I was from, particularly the blind lady that asked if I really had an accent or if I was just putting it on
The cats in the apartment window by our booth in Little Falls
The delicious sweet breads and muffins at the continental breakfast at LivInn
The 13 year old boy hanging out with his buddies that bought a dip
That the organizers of the South Dakota Fair put the Republican booth right beside the Democrat booth. Were they purposefully trying to start something?
The disc golf tournament in a park we drove through
The mist over the Mississippi River on a Minnesota morning
The group of teenagers that were tired of shopping so they found an empty place near our booth and arm wrestled instead
The college guy that happened by when we were cleaning up at the end of the day and was delighted to take a couple left-over dip samples home with him
Hearing from friends after they read my blog. I know I'm a terrible long-distance communicator, but I do think of all of you & I'm thrilled when you message just to say hi!
A CCC project being revived by the Iroquois youth/congregation
The girl who thought we were selling pretzels and complained she couldn't tell a difference from one to the other. Her friend corrected her and informed her she was supposed to use the pretzel to sample the dip.
That the guy who made announcements over the loudspeaker in Owatonna ended every announcement with "that is all" said in a very monotone voice
The old-fashioned "ring for service" bell at the Iowa hotel's front desk

Things I Learned:
That rocks have to be gathered out of the fields every year in Northern locations because when it freezes they are pushed out of the ground. How have I never learned this?
People like to feel like Sherlock. But please ask what the most popular dip or soup is. Just because the basket is empty does nor mean it is a best seller.
It is possible to go for 11 hours without food, restroom, and only one bottle of water because you're so busy
That people in Minnesota don't often have porches, at least not where I was
If you don't eat all day you do have room for dessert at a restaurant
How rented tents are put up and taken down on concrete (they have to drill holes) And that people who do it for a job only take fifteen minutes or so to put up a 20x20 tent from start to finish
That if you need a windowsill for the tree you impulse bought on which to sit and get sun in the hotel room, an ironing board set up a foot or two from the floor works well
How bus stops work on a busy interstate
Seeing people out for a good time and yet so unfulfilled can take away any desire you may have to partake in so-called "good time"
What a potato digger looks like
You can work a 12-14 hour day on four hours of sleep
That people tend to be more respectful of the daily national anthem than of the daily opening prayer

Things That Made Me Roll My Eyes:
The guy that asked if the cups with ice were to wash your hands after sampling dips (they were cups for dips that we hadn't put out yet)
Dad's don't outgrow dad jokes
The fact that a guy started an arts and crafts show on the same days in a nearby town because he was offended at Little Falls officials

Things That Annoyed Me:
When people sample dips in large amounts for a long time and don't buy anything
Flies
A non-working air conditioner
That they've come up with three methods for using a credit card, but as a cashier I'd be happy if there was one that I could depend on to work every time
That some hotels have suspended room service since Covid & you now have to ask for fresh towels or washcloths whenever you need them
Port-a-pots
Falling down the steps. Ok, it was early and dark and I was tired & thought I was at the bottom step. I wasn't.
A certain vending machine that blatantly stole my money
The smell of hog barns

Things That Made Me Sad:
The hopelessness in the faces of so many people
Children that are being raised in homes where they are insecure
The shooting at the Minnesota State Fair
All the people living against the proper order God instituted in the beginning
The poor innocent deaf woman who tried Blazin' Saddles and was literally weeping from the habanero in it. I was so glad I at least had a small bottle of water to give her!
The guy that walked out of the restaurant because he didn't think he got the service he deserved
The family in Owatonna who had a teenage son that had been in a car wreck several months ago. He was in a wheelchair and had suffered brain damage. His mother said he no longer knew what foods he liked, and it was different from before the wreck, so he had to try everything.  "It's been hard," she said. "This is my sister," the boy said, showing me a picture in his wallet, "she's beautiful."

Questions That Remain Unanswered:
Why do the lights of most wind chargers in an area blink on and off together, but sometimes there are two or three that are timed differently?
Why do some roads have a solid rumble strip down the middle and one with intervals on the side? I know why they have rumble strips both places, I'm just wondering why different types.
Why was a field we passed planted alternating every few rows between two different crops?
Why doesn't the South have as many flowers on the roadsides as the Northwest?
Why did someone put up a small wind charger that barely stuck over the trees? Kansas-sized trees, not southern-sized trees.

Things I Am Thankful For Now More Than Ever:
God's Church
Modesty
Peace
Worshipping With God's People on Sunday
Getting to spend time with my dad
The beautiful singing of God's people
That we can listen to church over the phone
That the shows we were at did well

That I could be a friendly face for the lady from the Republican booth in Owatonna. She came rushing over to me and shared how scared she was after being verbally attacked by someone that didn't share her views. "You looked like a friendly face, and I was shaking!"

That I got to taste the Minnesota & South Dakota cultures
That someone in Iroquois was willing to mix up dip & cheeseball samples for us
That I was mostly unhurt after aforementioned early hour step descending incident
That the son and grandson of the elderly man attending the South Dakota State Fair managed to get his rented electric cart turned before it ran full speed into our table full of soup samples. Seriously, I know the carts are brilliant for people who aren't able to walk long distances, but the place that rents them out should make potential customers run an obstacle course first to make sure they are able operators.
That our box truck has a lift gate
That I live in the South
That there are still parents- young parents- doing a good job with raising their children
Home 

Stories From the Road

     I have some spare time today, and it occurred to me that maybe some of you are curious about what I've been up to. Many of you know I took the year off from teaching, and some of you know I'm doing shows with my dad. But exactly what does "doing shows with my dad" entail? Here's a peak into my life the last several weeks.

    My adventures on the road started August 15 when I flew out of Jackson, Mississippi, to join my dad in Minnesota. What exactly does Dad do? He works for the company All of Us Old Plantation Soups and Dips. You can find the company and order online here. I am so thankful the family who runs the business has excellent taste! Their products honestly are delicious. Other than ordering online, the only way you will find this product is at arts and crafts fairs, state fairs, etc., across the U.S. 

This is the top-selling soup and my personal favorite. 

When customers ask which soup is the best, the common

answer is, "Anything with a blue label!"

    Setting up for a show is a lot of work. There are tables to be unloaded and set up, cords to be run for sinks, microwave, toaster oven, and fridge, and product to be displayed. 

This is an old picture I found online, but the booth set-up looks something like this.

    The thing that makes All of Us stand out from the crowd is the samples. If you visit our booth, you can sample each one of the 20 dips and 13 cheeseballs. You will be offered soup samples, somewhere between three and six varieties depending how large the show is. If you come at the right time, you may also get a taste of Southern Pecan Pie muffins or Chocolate Cobbler. One of the newer products is Louisiana Yardbird (Chicken) Salad. All this sampling, of course, means more work: coming early to make soup, keeping the dips and cheeseballs iced down so they don't go bad, refilling jars of pretzels, wheat thins, and tortilla chips so our customers have something to sample with. 

    But everyone needs food. Most people enjoy food. And it's a lot of fun to watch someone try our products for the first time and see their eyes go wide in delight and watch them come back later with a friend to ensure they get to try the soup, too.

    Of course it is the people, always the people, that make it interesting.

    The first show Dad and I worked was the Steele County Fair. Folks there were quick to inform us this is the largest free county fair in America.

As you can see, there was a lot going on at Owatonna's Steele County Fair.

We experienced none of it, of course, because 

we are inside a building at our booth the entire time. 

    The Owatonna/Steele County Fair was interesting. Often at a fair we have busy periods where people are around the booth 3 deep followed by times of absolutely nothing. Not in Owatonna! Instead, we had a steady trickle of customers, just enough that you stayed busy, but few enough you kept wondering when the crowd was going to show up. 

    One of my favorite things there were the children and young teens that would come to our booth and sample. One group of girls came just about every day. The one girl, about 13 or so, bought her own dip mix, and another brought her mother to try things out.

    Besides the customers, we're also surrounded by other vendors. Many of these you form a relationship with by the last day, particularly at a longer show. Owatonna was five days long, mostly 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Keep in mind we try to get to the show two hours early in order to prepare for the day. 

    Across from us were three men, one Hispanic, one Israeli, and one of uncertain origins that were selling some sort of potion that could make you look fifteen years younger. I went back and forth between being amused at their methods and being upset that so many women (and their husbands) had so little self-respect as to allow themselves in essence to be called old and ugly.

    Beside us was the Department of Correction trying to get job applicants. Just down the aisle were some people selling heating and cooling pads. I don't know brands, so I'm not going to provide a link, but I know we love ours! 

These are awesome! There's a little button inside you

push to make them warm up automatically. You boil them

in order to return them to how they were to start with.

Put them in the freezer if you want them cold.

    One of the ladies working there was named Hailey and she stopped by our booth for samples every day. When we cleaned out left over soup at the end of the day, Hailey took some home for supper as well as the guys across the aisle. 

    Also just down the way was a man from South Africa selling wire cars. Anyone who's been in Africa will recognize the style. He and his wife were the nicest people. He told me he wanted to inspire children to play outside.

    

    Although you meet lots of nice people and see plenty of kind deeds, the fairs are not free of scandal either. There was a vendor that was packed up and escorted off the property by the police. Rumors had it they were disobeying rules by going out in the aisles and accosting potential customers. Supposedly they were also preying on vulnerable elderly women and were signing them up for unwanted, hard to understand memberships for their company at a rate of $2,500 a piece.

    And then there was the most interesting person I met at the fair. I met him when a rainstorm sent all the fairgoers and vendors outdoors rushing inside for shelter. We had a lengthy discussion.

    

Not him, but someone similar.

You probably know more than I do,

but I think he was a Rastafarian.

    He was born, he told me, on a plane somewhere between Jamaica and Australia. He was very highly educated, but he had chosen to renounce his education. He recognized me as a Mennonite and tried to pin me down on how I was "cheating" the rules of my religion. He told me he had chosen the name "Baba." I found this interesting, as Baba is the Shona word for father. I asked him about this, and he informed me he was able to speak 80 languages. 

    "Wow!" I said.

    "Yes," Baba said, "I can speak dog and chicken. I am trying to learn snake, but it is harder." 

    I can't remember the whole conversation, but we talked about being vegan. He told me I was a compassionate person and because I admitted I disliked killing animals, he was sure I had a subconscious knowledge it was wrong to do so. He explained at great lengths the reasons that killing off mosquitoes would damage the food chain. He told me if humans were nonexistent the animal world would heal itself in only a very few years. I did not think to ask him at the time how this would work, since if the tiny mosquito is so important, surely the larger human predator would be even more so?

    I did ask him if it was wrong to kill animals why animals killed each other. "Oh," he said, "animals are just lazy."

    Then I asked him if he believed animals had souls.

    Yes, Baba said he did. His explanation was confusing me, so I finally asked him what he believed a soul was. I can't say I completely understood that answer either, but it did explain why I was so confused by some of his views. The response was something down the line that a soul could also be called energy or quantum. Nothing truly existed, he said. 

    "So you believe...?" was how I started my next question.

    "No," he said, "You see, I think you cannot believe in anything."

    "Oh, but you have to believe in something!" I told him. "It's impossible to believe in nothing!"

    That seemed to pause him for a moment. Finally he said, "You are very wise for one so young. Where did you get so wise?"

    I told him any wisdom I had was not mine, but God's. That answer was hard for him to accept, so he asked me maybe twice more, and I just kept replying, "from God," until he gave up. 

    I must admit I did find the conversation taxing, and I tried my best to be busy the next couple times I saw him. He brought me some kettle corn later, telling me it was a good vegan snack. 

    Kettle corn is good, but one cannot live by kettle corn alone. I am quite happy to be an omnivore.

    At last the fair ended, and we loaded up to head back to the motel. It was nearly 11:00 p.m. by the time we left the fairgrounds.

Our magnificent ride looks like this, more or less. The seats

can hardly be said to be comfortable. 

    Our next stop was in Minneapolis at the Minnesota State Fair. This is a huge deal. It is the largest fair in the U.S. by attendance, and second only to Texas by land area. We joined another crew there to help out for several days. I was glad we didn't have to stay the entire time! It's a twelve-day event, and we were there plenty long for me after the first five or so days.

    May I inform you that although the people I met were not unpleasant, they were messy eaters. And they ate a lot. I was constantly refilling pretzel containers. I started keeping track, and we were going through sixteen bags of pretzels a day. And I'm not sure how they did it, but the ice cups we put our dips and cheeseballs in were so messy, we started covering them all with plastic bags to save on clean up time. My main job was running the register, and I was positioned across from a vendor named Larry. Larry is a bit of a legend in the fair industry, and a staple at the Minnesota state fair.

Larry has been at the fair for 

approximately 36 years.

    You would not believe how many people came by and said, "Oh! It's Larry! I've watched him since I was a kid, and he was just as old then as he is now!" They would ask to take pictures with him and watch his spiel with fascination, the same as they have for the last number of years. 

    Larry was quite tickled to hear that someone had taken a photo of him and entered it in the fair. "You can see me twice," he'd tell people, "once here, and once on the wall in the fine arts building!"

    Larry sells peelers, and his sales patter is so good that you'll probably end up buying one even if you don't want to. You can see it for yourself by following this link to Larry's Peeler. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you'll find a video of his sales pitch.

    One of the things I dislike about living on the road is doing laundry either at hotels or laundromats. On the evening before we were supposed to leave Minneapolis, we went down to the laundry room in the motel where we were staying. 

    Would you believe it? They were all busy or out of order. Except one. And that one was just being loaded by a vendor just down the aisle from us at the fair. In fact, we've talked to him some, and he's a really nice guy. No laundry for us that night. But our fellow vendor was having a problem.

    "Hey," he said, "would you mind using your card in this machine? I'm having trouble with mine. I'll pay you back."

    So Dad paid for his laundry. 

    "Are those your clothes?" the vendor asked, motioning to the washers in action. 

    "No," Dad said, "we were just coming to do ours."

    "And you paid for mine? Man, if that was me I would've told you to get your stuff out and let me do my laundry if I was paying anyhow. Guess God was looking out for me tonight!"

    We shrugged and laughed and went back to our room. The next morning the same vendor approached us as we ate the continental breakfast. "Would you believe it?" he said, "My clothes are stuck in that washer! It quit partway through and it's full of water and I can't get anything out. Looks like God was watching out for you, not me!"

    Apparently the event was impressive to him, because I heard him telling other people the same story throughout the day. "And I don't mess with God," he told one man.

    Honestly, what could we say? I think God was watching out for us. We were leaving that day and had it been our clothes stuck in the washer, we would have certainly been in trouble.

    Our next stop was South Dakota. We stayed with one of Dad's cousins there. It was special for me to get to meet them, as I don't really know any of my dad's extended family. The South Dakota State Fair is an entirely different vibe from the Minnesota State Fair. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The building across the street from us housed chickens, goats,

a couple of cows that calved during the fair, and two sows that farrowed.

    Rural South Dakota, I decided, has the nicest people. They are respectful, hard workers, and not in the least entitled. There were a lot of 4H shirts, cowboy hats, and big belt buckles. Every morning when we arrived we drove past calves getting washed and ready to show. Several of the streets between the buildings were dirt, and there were golf carts everywhere, ready to give you a ride if you needed it. The atmosphere was more laid back and openly friendly. I would definitely visit South Dakota again!

   In our building was a place that sold milk, shakes, and ice cream cones. They had a steady stream of visitors, and by Saturday had already sold the same amount of ice cream they had sold the entire year before. Across from us was a lady selling infused honey.

This tasted like you could put it on ham and grill it.

There were other flavors that would work well in hot tea or coffee.

    She was representing the family run business, Little Shire Farm, which you can find here. She and I had some fun trading products. I'd never experienced infused honey before, and I loved it. The cinnamon and salted varieties were great as well!

    We found out while we were here that there had been a shooting at the Minnesota State Fair. While I was glad we were no longer there, my heart is heavy for those affected.

    I also met another gentleman at this fair. Unlike Baba, he did not give me his name, and unlike Baba, he did not leave me feeling confused.

    "I was born in South Dakota, and I'll die in South Dakota," he told me, "but after I die, I'm going somewhere even better. You know where that is?"

    "Where?" I asked.

    "Heaven," he told me. "I'm going to Heaven. Are you going to Heaven?"

    "Yes, sir," I told him.

    "How do you know?" he asked.

    "Because I believe Jesus died for my sins and He's forgiven me," I answered. I didn't really know what to say, but I think the Spirit must have given me those words.

    "That's a good answer," the man told me. "So many people I ask say they don't know or they hope so or that they're trying to be good enough. I met one lady and I asked her if she was going to Heaven. She told me right away, 'Oh, yes!' and I asked her how she knew, and she said, 'Well, I try to be good and I'm a Catholic,'" he shook his head. "Nope, that isn't going to work."

    I had to abandon our conversation because a customer was needing attendance, but I feel that gentleman had a better grasp on how to get to Heaven than many people do. And I was impressed he was willing to strike up spiritual conversation with random strangers.

    Now here we are in a small town near Little Falls, Minnesota, waiting for the next fair to start.

    This fair is a little different than the others. For one thing, it's all outside. For another, it is strictly arts and crafts, so not so many larger companies will be represented like at some of the other fairs where there were booths for Usborne, Pampered Chef, and Norwex. (I never saw Lemongrass though, lol.)

    This is only a two day fair, and it will be time to head home. I am grateful. 

    The next question will be how we survive the trip home as our air conditioner has quit. But I'm sure we will. We've survived many other things, after all.

    Thanks for coming along on our road trip! I apologize if this got too long. Next time you visit an arts and crafts fair, maybe you'll remember this, and think about everything that goes on behind the scenes. And although the schedule can be grueling, we also have experiences and chances to talk to people we'd never meet otherwise. So long for now!